Oreco expanding
2 janvier 2008
Oreco - the cognac economic organization - responsible for managing stocks (and holds almost 12% of total stock) in investing 10 million euros to increase its capacity by 100,000 hl (5 new storehouses in 3 years at Merpins in Charente).

Cognac and spirits
2 janvier 2008
Cognac had mixed fortunes in 2007 : sales exploded (180 million bottles sold worldwide) and the production season was catastrophic (hail, mildew, low yield ...).Rémy-Cointreau has reported net profits of 38.1 million euros in the first six months of fiscal 2007-2008. The commercial court in Versailles (78) has appointed a provisional administrator in charge of Ferrand cognacs (20 million euros in sales in 2006, 27 employees at Ars) amid shareholder disputes (a ruling is due on 18 January). Litho-Bru (packaging for wines and spirits) has won the contract for the Russian vodka Russian Standard which is being launched in France.

Merchants’ union
20 décembre 2007
The Syndicat des maisons de cognac (union of cognac houses), which was created on 24 October following the merger of the Syndicat des exportateurs de cognac (cognac exporters’ union) and the Syndicat de Progrès et tradition (Union for Progress and tradition), brings together 11 négoce companies (the five largest and 6 smaller ones).

Cognac : low 2007 harvest in figures
19 décembre 2007
The poor grape harvest in the two Charentes in 2007 is no secret, and now the true level has been revealed : the BNIC has determined the yield in the 2007 harvest at 6,279,949 hectoliters (85.80hl/ha), the lowest total since 1998 (28.5% below the 10-year average). The result is that requirements for cognac have not been met and there is very little left for other outlets. It should be noted that the level of alcohol is higher than usual at 10.25 degrees. In one sense this low harvest is a good thing : the storehouses at Oreco, which stores 12% of the stock of eau-de-vie, are full to the brim and new adaptations of storage capacity can be expected in the future.

Chill wind for cognac in November
19 décembre 2007
Sales of cognac cooled in November with a 21.7% drop compared to last year. This figure is no cause for concern as orders ahead of the end-of-year festivities were grouped in October. Over 12 months, sales have risen by +4.6%.

Pernod eyes up Stolichnaya
18 décembre 2007
The Pernod-Ricard group (Martell cognac) may be about to acquire the Russian vodka Stolichnaya (it already distributes the brand worldwide) for one billion pounds. It is already in the running to buy Vin and Spirit which owns Absolut vodka.

Great cognac houses move closer
18 décembre 2007
The merger of the Syndicat des exportateurs de cognac (cognac exporters’ union) and the Syndicat de Progrès et tradition (Union for Progress and tradition) has led to the creation of the Syndicat des maisons de cognac (union of cognac houses) which will be officially presented on 19 December. Its first president is Jean-Marc Olivier, CEO of Courvoisier.

INAO experimenting late distilling
17 décembre 2007
On 7 December a technical commission at INAO gave its approval to the principle of experimenting late distillation, i.e. outside the statutory period, after 31 March in the case of cognac. The test, which disrupts the schedules of many in the trade, is being carried out with a view to anticipating global warming.

Cognac : from Russia with love
13 décembre 2007
The Russian group Kin, which acquired the Domaine des Broix (Touzac, Charente) in 2004, has launched three top quality cognacs in Russia. The cognac market has progressed by 2,000% in Russia since 1995. It is the 7th largest importer of cognac with 14,778 hl of pure alcohol in 2006-2007 (the Unites States are the largest importer with 148,456 hl). In 2006, 4.78 million bottles of cognac were imported in Russia (62.28 million euros). In addition, whereas Hennessy sold 4.24 million cases in 2006 (leading company), shipments of cases at Martell have risen by 15.9% between 2005 and 2006 (1.46 million).

Cognac in the headlines
12 décembre 2007
Last Saturday the Figaro Magazine devoted 15 pages to cognac and the thoughts of Thierry Verrat, a chef from Cognac.